About Galleries

About the Galleries

The Idaho State Historical Society preserves and shares a wide range of artifacts, photographs, documents and other materials. Contained within each gallery are sample images and related information.

Historic Photograph Gallery

Experience Idaho’s visual history through photograph collections available at the Idaho State Archives. Images date from the Territorial period to present day. The collections offer a variety of subjects, including ethnic, mining, military, railroads, and geographic locations. Noteworthy Idaho photographers are featured, such as Bisbee, Sigler, and Fuller.

Idaho State Historical Museum Gallery

The Idaho State Historical Society Museum gallery offers you a closer look at selected artifacts. These objects were selected by museum curators because of the fascinating stories they tell about Idaho history. The photographs in this gallery highlight a few artifacts not currently on exhibit and illustrate the diversity of our collections. For more information contact (208) 334-2120 or by e-mail.

Documents and Maps Gallery

The Documents and Maps Gallery offers images of sample items from the Idaho State Archives collections. Manuscript and archive materials include the personal papers of Senator William E. Borah; records of the Territorial government; gubernatorial papers from George Shoup through James E. Risch; records of the Idaho Soldiers’ Home; and Carey Act materials dealing with water rights and irrigation. The Idaho State Archives also holds an extensive collection of over 32,000 maps, including a series of hand-drawn and hand-colored maps prepared by Idaho’s first surveyor general, Lafayette Cartee, State highway maps, fire insurance maps for a variety of towns and businesses, and blueprints and architectural plans. For more information contact (208) 334-2620 or by e-mail.